NEW DELHI: An Indian consular officers body search and arrest in New York for alleged visa fraud and underpaying her maid has jolted ties between the two countries, US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell said on Tuesday.

In her New Year greetings to the host country, Ms Powell listed several landmark achievements in bilateral ties. But, she added: Alongside these impressive developments, this forward movement has been jolted by very different reactions to issues involving one of your consular officers and her domestic worker.

The controversy over the recent arrest of Devyani Khobragade, described by American officials as a consular official at Indias New York consulate, and by Indians as a diplomat, has already evoked regret by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Ms Powell said she joined Mr Kerry in expressing our regret for the circumstances of the consular officers arrest, but we believe that we can look forward to continuing to expand our bilateral relations.

The two countries have taken unusually glum steps since the woman officials arrest in a visa-related case in which she is alleged to have falsified the salary of her Indian maid. India said on Tuesday it is setting up a group of experts to examine information sought from the US consulate on pay and allowances to its Indian employees as well as details about whether establishments running on diplomatic premises were catering to non-consular staff as well.

India also dismissed reports suggesting that the US was steadfast in pursuing the visa fraud case.

In a pluralist democracy, various channels operate simultaneously and may have different views. We will go by what the State Department is communicating, said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

During her tenure, she said, the US mission has been engaged in not only looking forward but in joining our Indian partners in moving forward.

She said the two had joined together on behalf of the children of the world in A Global Call to Action on Child Survival. Also, they have neared the $100 billion mark in two-way trade in goods and services; police chiefs from both countries sat together to share their experiences and to look to greater cooperation; they have had deep and fruitful consultations at the highest levels on resolving some of the worlds crises; and via Indias Mars Orbiter Mission, whose launch Ms Powell was privileged to watch, both boosted their relationship to a whole new world.

The documentation of our cooperation and collaboration is long and reflects the deepening and broadening of our relationship, Ms Powell said.

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Row over maid has jolted ties with India: US envoy - DAWN.COM

The author has posted comments on this articleVijay Desouza, TNN | Dec 29, 2013, 04.02AM IST

PANAJI: Goa chamber of commerce & industry (GCCI) on Saturday urged the Centre to make special provisions to give boost to the Goan economy which is affected by the closure of mining operations in the state and suggested extension of tax exemption under 80IB to new units to be set up in the state, particularly the backward talukas.

Goa's economic situation and the areas where the union finance ministry can chip in, were discussed by a GCCI delegation headed by its president Narayan Bandekar when it had a meeting with the newly appointed finance ministry Sumit Bose. A representation was also submitted to Bose.

The Chamber also suggested removal of inverted duty structure, virtual SEZ status for specific industries like IT, Electronics and Pharma and early implementation of GST. The Chamber recommended extention of Tax Holiday under section 80ID for tourism infrastructure projects like golf courses, theme parks, amusement parks etc to give a boost to the tourism industry.

While requesting the finance secretary to direct the banks to be more sympathetic to the mining related borrowers like truck / barge / machinery owners by offering them some relief till the mining activity resumes again, the Chamber also requested for concessions for mining service providers who have some service tax liabilities but are not able to discharge them as they have not been receiving payments of the bills raised by them.

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Goa chamber of commerce & industry petitions finance ministry over pending issues

C K Birla rasing his hand during passage of a resolution at the 70th annual general meeting Hindustan Motors Limited in Kolkata in August 2013. (File Photo: PTI)

While Birla did not reply to reporters' queries after the company's AGM (annual general meeting), the company's managing director and CEO Uttam Bose said that it was becoming very difficult for the company to manage daily operations due to poor cash flow.

Today's decision reflected Birla's thinking that his stepping down would pave the way for the entry of strategic investors and allow for greater flexibility during discussions, the company said in a statement.

During the 18-month period under review beginning April, 2012 and ending September 2013, HM incurred a loss of Rs 71.20 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 29.96 crore in FY2011-12.

The company's accumulated losses have exceeded its net worth at the completion of the extended financial year ended September 30, 2013.

Birla was appointed chairman of HM in November 1997. Birla had also relinquished the post of directorship in the company.

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C K Birla steps down as chairman of Hindustan Motors

The author has posted comments on this articleRadheshyam Jadhav, TNN | Dec 28, 2013, 04.25PM IST PUNE: The food processing sector has witnessed fast growth, employment generation and export earnings in the recent past according to the press release issued by the central government. In major indicators, the growth in this sector has been better than other industries and the economy as a whole.

On its part, the ministry of food processing industries has contributed to encouraging investment into the sector, improving infrastructure, evolving better standards, removing bottlenecks and initiating R&D and skill development.

The National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) was approved in June this year followed by quick formulation of guidelines to states. The ministry has taken a number of steps for encouraging investment into the FPI sector; these include issuing expression of interest (EOI) for setting up 15 cold chain projects, information dissemination on resources and facilities available in different states, creating an investor portal, and modification of guidelines for setting up cold chains. On the Ministry's initiative, concessional duty on food processing machinery is under consideration of the government.

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Food processing sector registers fast growth

The author has posted comments on this articleTNN | Dec 28, 2013, 03.58PM IST PUNE: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal for providing non-plan budgetary support of Rs 116.86 crore for liquidation of statutory dues (provident fund, gratuity, pension, employees state insurance and bonus) and salary and wages from April 1, 2013 to August 31, 2013 in respect of eleven Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the Department of Heavy Industry. The units are Hindustan Cables Ltd., HMT Machine Tools Ltd., HMT (Watches) Ltd., HMT (Chinar Watches) Ltd., Nagaland Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd., Triveni Structurals Ltd., Tungbhadra Steel Products Ltd., Nepa Ltd., HMT Bearings Ltd. Hindustan Photo Films Limited and Tyre Corporation of India Ltd.

Revival/closure plans of Hindustan Cables Limited, Triveni Structurals Ltd., HMT (Watches) Ltd., HMT (Chinar Watches) Ltd., Hindustan Photo Films Ltd. and HMT Machine Tools Ltd. are yet to be finalized; revival plans of Nepa Ltd. and Nagaland Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd. have recently been approved; revival plans of HMT Bearings Ltd. and Tungbhadra Steel Products Ltd. are yet to materialize; and disinvestment of Tyre Corporation of India Ltd. is under process. It was, therefore, considered essential that the interim financial support from the Government be provided so that the operation of these companies may not be affected.

Non-settlement of these liabilities has been causing serious hardship not only to the employees of the companies but also adversely affecting the day-to-day operation of the companies resulting in further deterioration of their performance.

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Payment of statutory dues, salaries, wages in sick units

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27 December 2013| last updated at 11:11PM

But, most departments are crowded with civil servants who are mostly timid. Thus, any petition is rendered useless.

Ministries also suffer the same timidity, since the staff are made up of the same civil servants. Thus, a petition to a ministry is also useless.

People know that time does not permit a minister to write correspondence; nonetheless, the minister can direct the civil servants to respond to a petition.

However, if there is no reminder from the minister, there won't be any response.

This non-reminder by heads of departments is prevalent in departments and agencies. Ministers can express many deliveries to the people. However, if a minister does not remind his staff, all the promises will mean nothing.

One does not wish to disclose the departments with which one has had such experiences. However, these days, the media are asking the people to reveal all!

On May 30, I sent a report to the general manager of Celcom Axiata Bhd for selling Wi-Fi Broadband at RM95 a piece in Kota Baru as a promotion. In Tanah Merah, there was no promotion, so the price was RM195.

However, the said broadband service does not work in Tanah Merah.

Under the Consumer Protection Act, one is entitled to ask Celcom to take back the goods and return the money. However, until today, there has been no response.

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SERVICES: No response from Celcom, ministry

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News Desk

The Star

Publication Date : 25-12-2013

The cost structure on hiring Indonesian maids should not be fixed but based on the situation in the market, says the Malaysian National Association of Employment Agencies (Pikap).

Pikap president Raja Zulkepley Dahalan said this was because maid services were not a necessity, unlike electricity and water supply which had to be controlled by the government.

It should be subject to the demand and supply in the market. It is a business and hence it is dynamic, he told reporters at the Pikap office here on Tuesday.

Raja Zulkepley said Malaysian employment agencies could not afford to maintain the 3,000 ringgit (US$910.88) worth of management costs due to price hikes for fuel, toll fees and the electricity tariff.

Indonesian agencies also cannot afford to sell maid biodatas at only 4,800 ringgit ($1,457) when the current market price for the biodata of a maid from Java is about 6,500 ringgit ($1,973), he said.

He said Pikaps proposal to make the cost structure fluid will be included in a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) between them and the Indonesian employment association, Asosiasi Perusahaan Jasa Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (Apjati).

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Cost of hiring Indonesians in M'sia should be market-based: association

A day before Ambassador Meera Shankar was to return home after completing her tenure in the US in the summer of 2011, her maid, without informing anyone, left her official residence on the outskirts of the city never to return.

The highly-secretive Indian Embassy hushed up the matter from the media and is believed to have registered a formal complaint with police and the State Department, in addition to cancelling the maid's official passport.

The woman domestic worker, who served the Ambassador quite well during her tenure of more than two years in Washington, is still untraceable and believed to be living illegally in the US.

And she is not the only Indian maid -- officially called "India-Based Domestic Assistant" -- to have fled from the homes of senior Indian diplomats in the past few years.

Sources familiar with such incidents told PTI, strictly on condition of anonymity, that the number of such maids or India-Based Domestic Assistants from the Indian Embassy in Washington -- one of the largest Indian diplomatic missions -- could be at least a dozen in the past decade.

Not only maids, but security guards brought from India too are believed to have fled, mostly towards the end of their tenure.

The Indian Embassy did not respond to PTI's questions on the number of IBDAs currently with staff at its diplomatic posts in the US, including the embassy in Washington and consulates in New York, San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta and Chicago.

In 2012, the US issued a total of 54 A-3 visas, which are the ones for IBDAs or maids, to Indian diplomats. In all, as many as 1,141 A-3 visas were issued last year, while 749 applications were rejected.

A-3 visas are for the domestic help of diplomats and foreign officials who are in the US on A-1 and A-2 visas.

According to official figures made available to PTI by the State Department, the US issued A-3 visas for 32 Indian domestic workers in 2011, 50 in 2010, 60 in 2009, 38 in 2008, 35 in 2007, 40 in 2006, 60 in 2005,55 in 2004 and 47 in 2003.

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Several maids have fled homes of Indian diplomats in US